Vitamin C deficiency impairs early brain development

New research at LIFE - Faculty of Life Sciences at University of Copenhagen shows that vitamin C deficiency may impair the mental development of newborn babies.

In the latest issue of the well-known scientific journal The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a group of researchers headed by professor Jens Lykkesfeldt shows that guinea pigs subjected to moderate vitamin C deficiency have 30 per cent less hippocampal neurones and markedly worse spatial memory than guinea pigs given a normal diet. Like guinea pigs, human beings are dependent on getting vitamin C through their diet, and Jens Lykkesfeldt therefore speculate that vitamin C deficiency in pregnant and breast-feeding women may also lead to impaired development in foetuses and new-born babies.